Home Depot to fill 80,000 jobs for the spring

Home Depot is the latest retailer to announce that it's hiring, saying that it's aiming to fill more than 80,000 jobs in time for the spring time rush.

Author:
Charisse Jones , USA TODAY , WXIA

Published:
7:20 PM CST March 4, 2017

Updated:
7:20 PM CST March 4, 2017

Home Depot is the latest retailer to announce that it's hiring, saying that it's aiming to fill more than 80,000 jobs in time for the spring time rush.

The home improvement retailer will be bringing on a range of employees, from cashiers to freight handlers to customer service representatives. To hasten the hiring, It’s even shrunk the application, and is enabling potential workers to apply by clicking on a smartphone or tablet.

"We want everyone to have an easy and convenient experience with The Home Depot, whether they're shopping with us or applying for a position," Tim Crow, the retailer’s executive vice president, human resources, said in a statement.

The jobs will consist of permanent, part-time positions, as well as seasonal jobs. There's also a chance that some of those hired just for spring could land a long-term position, with Home Depot saying that typically half of its seasonal hires stay on permanently.

Home Depot’s hiring binge stands in contrast to several other retailers who have been slashing positions as they shutter stores. American Apparel said in January that it would be cutting 2,400 jobs. And Macy’s previous and pending closures of dozens of locations will result in the loss of 10,100 positions.

Spring is a particularly busy season for home improvement hubs. Lowe’s, which specializes in garden and building supplies, has said it would bring on tens of thousands of workers to help handle the expected rush. And last month, it also said that it would hire more than 1,700 full-time workers by October.

Walmart is another big box retailer that is bolstering its payroll. The world’s largest retailer said in January that it would create 10,000 new retail jobs in the U.S. this year, and also put 24,000 additional people to work in construction as it opens new stores and renovates existing locations.